Tim Sweeney is mocking Apple for letting Fortnite fakes into the App Store
Epic Games has been waiting for Apple to approve Fortnite for the US iOS App Store for nearly a week, and now Epic CEO Tim Sweeney is using X to try and put pressure on Apple. On Thursday, he highlighted examples of Fortnite lookalikes that are currently on the App Store and made a direct appeal to Apple CEO Tim Cook.
In one post, Sweeney included screenshots of the App Store listing for a game called Fort Battle Royale Epic Shoot. A screenshot in the app listing shows a game with Fortnite-inspired graphics, but it’s clear if you look closely that it isn’t the real Fortnite. “Hey @AppStore can we get the real Fortnite up pls?” Sweeney asked.
Soon after, Sweeney said that Fort Battle Royale Epic Shoot had been taken down from the App Store but also highlighted another Fortnite clone, Epic Survival Battle Royale 3D. That app, as of this writing, is still available on the App Store. (Apple has something of a history of letting unofficial fakes of popular games slip onto the store.)
Sweeney also replied to a post Cook made earlier in the day. “Hi Tim. How about if you let our mutual customers access Fortnite? Just a thought,” Sweeney wrote.
Shortly after the April 30th ruling in Epic Games v. Apple that blocked Apple from charging a fee on purchases made outside the App Store, Sweeney announced that Epic would bring Fortnite back to the US iOS App Store “next week.”
Epic said it submitted Fortnite to Apple on Friday, May 9th, but the app hasn’t yet been approved. (Apple’s website says that “on average, 90 percent of submissions are reviewed in less than 24 hours.”)
Sweeney said yesterday that the company submitted a new version because “we need to release a weekly Fortnite update with new content this Friday, and all platforms must update simultaneously.” But that updated submission still hasn’t been approved, either.
“We don’t have an update on our Fortnite submission to the App Store,” Sweeney said earlier on Thursday. “Apple has neither accepted nor rejected it. So the Friday update to Fortnite is now in jeopardy.”
It’s unclear if that last sentence means that Epic plans to delay the planned Friday Fortnite update for all platforms where Fortnite is available as a result of Apple not yet approving the update.
Apple and Epic Games didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
Epic Games has been waiting for Apple to approve Fortnite for the US iOS App Store for nearly a week, and now Epic CEO Tim Sweeney is using X to try and put pressure on Apple. On Thursday, he highlighted examples of Fortnite lookalikes that are currently on the App…
Recent Posts
- Steam Machine and Steam Frame are coming ‘this summer’
- Valve says it’s ready to launch the Steam Machine this summer
- Best Buy slashes up to $400 off Apple tech in a limited-time sale — get AirPods, MacBooks, iPads and Apple Watches from $99.99
- The Instagram Plus subscription has officially launched
- Wired found code for an unreleased facial recognition feature in Meta’s AI app
Archives
- June 2026
- May 2026
- April 2026
- March 2026
- February 2026
- January 2026
- December 2025
- November 2025
- October 2025
- September 2025
- August 2025
- July 2025
- June 2025
- May 2025
- April 2025
- March 2025
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023